Category: Book reviews

Pretend You’re in a War: The Who & The Sixties By Mark Blade (Aurum Press Ltd.) There is certainly no shortage of books out there about The Who. But London-based music journalist Mark Blade has proven there was room for…

Punk USA: The Rise and Fall of Lookout! Records By Kevin Prested (Microsom Publishing) Whether or not you were a fan of the 1990s pop punk movement, there is no denying how influential the Northern California label Lookout! Records was…

Girl in a Band: A Memoir By Kim Gordon (Dey St.) For the past three decades, Kim Gordon has been the driving force of Sonic Youth —the group she cofounded—serving as co-vocalist, bassist, guitarist, and song writer. But to many,…

Into the Black: The Inside Story of Metallica 1991 – 2014 By Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood (Da Capo Press) You’d be hard-pressed to find a more definitive scholarship of Metallica, one of metal’s most polarizing bands, than the massive…

The Music Book By Dave O’Leary (Booktrope) Twenty years later, novelist Dave O’Leary strives to give us a real life update to Cameron Crowe’s grunge-era epic ‘Singles’ by setting his semi-autobiographical tale, “The Music Book,” in present day Seattle and…

Welcome to Braggsville By T. Geronimo Johnson’s (William Morrow) T. Geronimo Johnson’s first novel, “Hold It ‘Til It Hurts,” was a finalist for the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction and earned the author a slew of fans among book critics….

Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone By Marky Ramone (Touchstone) At this point just about every member of the band has had their side of the story told in the ever-growing genre of “Ramones Memoirs and Biographies.” And…

108 Rock Star Guitars By Lisa S. Johnson (Hal Leonard Book) In 2013, Lisa S. Johnson’s “108 Rock Star Guitars” was released in a collector’s hardcover edition and a pretty hefty price tag came along with it. Now the book…

The Adventures of Mrs. Jesus By Dan O’Shannon (William Morrow) If God doesn’t have a sense of humor, TV writer/author Dan O’Shannon is likely going to hell thanks to “The Adventures of Mrs. Jesus.” But I’ll gladly tag along with…

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys: A Memoir By Viv Albertine (Thomas Dune Books) Rarely has a book title been so accurate. In the surprisingly candid memoir by former Slits guitarist and member of the ‘70s British…

Kooks, Queen Bitches and Andy Warhol: The Making of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory By Ken Sharp (Jetfighter) I’ve been a fan of Author Ken Sharp’s for years. The first book of his I ever read was a biography on Cheap…

U2: Revolution By Mat Snow (Race Point Publishing) Yes, there are plenty of U2 bios out there – some good, some dreadful, and a couple pretty great. There are also a number of hardcover, coffee table-sized books on the band…

Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980-1984 By Ian Glasper (PM Press) If you quickly answer “Blink 182!” when asked about your favorite punk band, this book is probably not meant for you. But for those with a burning…